When being in service becomes more important than being in fear

There is a poignant moment we all reach in our inspired work journey when we realize that our work is not about us. It is for us and of us, but it’s not actually about us. It is about those we are meant to serve.

Within each of us, there is so much fear bound up in our work. We fear failure. We fear success. We fear being unsupported. We fear being judged. We fear that we are incapable. We fear that our gifts will not be received, and so on. But our fear is an indicator that we are making our work about us.

Indeed, it is a vulnerable act to put our work out into the world. Because our inspired work is such an expression of who we are, any potential rejection can feel like a rejection of our true self. We worry, “If being who I am is not good enough, then what do I have left?” However, there comes a point when we realize it is more important that we show up to support each other rather than hide to protect ourselves.

The distinctions between for, of, and about

Your work is for you
When I say your work is for you, I mean that it is a vehicle that supports your own evolutionary growth. Your work will help shine a light on all those places within yourself where you are holding yourself back. It is an unbiased mirror that reflects how you are showing up, revealing any self-imposed limitations. It also provides ample opportunities to release those limitations so that you may be in the world as a more fully expressed version of yourself. As your work helps you grow, so, too, must your work grow to support the new you. Together, you become more of who you really are.

Your work is of you
Your work is of you because it is a vehicle for your joyful creative expression. The seeds of ideas you receive are yours to plant and nurture. When you open yourself to be a channel of creation, you become a facilitator of consciousness being realized through your particular human form. You have come into this world with a unique set of strengths, gifts, and talents that, when applied, assist you in creating the work that only you can create and being in service in the way that only you can serve.

Your work is about others
Your work is a vehicle that allows you to be in service to those who can benefit from your specific kind of help. It is not about proving your worth or selling yourself. It is about recognizing that your fellow humans have a particular need at this juncture in their life or in their own work and that by being exactly who you are, you can provide the usefulness that satisfies their need. You need not worry about doing it “perfectly”, you need only be concerned about doing it at all.

Choosing to be in service liberates us from fear

Because my work is about helping others find their unique mode of service to humanity, I have a front row seat to witnessing the rise of their deepest and darkest fears. Just when they are about to move their work out into the world, their fears can become so oppressive that they become paralyzed. They are like a deer in headlights as though all eyes are on them.

However, when we recognize that our work is not about us and we focus instead on those we are wanting to serve, it frees the energy that has been bound up in fear. Then, we have access to that energy and can use it to move into inspired action. It doesn’t mean that our fears will no longer exist. We just no longer perceive them to be as important. Instead what matters is that we are fulfilling our service to humanity.

When we recognize that our work is not about us and we focus instead on those we are wanting to serve, it frees the energy that has been bound up in fear.

The irony is that when we take a leap of faith and unabashedly put ourselves out into the world, we stop caring about all of those things that trigger our fears. The boldness of our actions generates courage within our hearts. The more we do it, the more we earn our own trust. We build confidence that we will handle whatever might arise as a result of putting ourselves into the world in such a vulnerable way.

On the other side of the canyon of vulnerability is a joy so immense that you will be forever grateful to yourself that you took the leap. You will gain the certainty of knowing that your entire life has been on purpose and that you are meant to be here at this very demanding time on our planet doing exactly what it is you are dreaming of doing. You will come to realize that you were born exactly as you are just so you could serve in the way that only you can. Your doing so will help create the more beautiful world we all want to live in.

So, the invitation is to feel your fear, and to serve anyway.